6.5 ain’t no powerhouse but they are damn good in fuel.
Not from the factory they aren't, but it's pretty easy to get good power out of them and still sip the fuel.
Sweet, would like to see that. Love the old square body's. First truck was a '79 step side, still have it billing it into my rock crawler/trail rig.
That is one thing I love about my truck. I used to own an 8.1 and I loved it. I loved the power and how it towed, but I couldn't afford to daily drive it. This 6.5 gets 16-18 in town depending on how I drive it, and 20-21 on highway. I daily this 6.5 a lot, and I love it.Yours would get better mileage then mine though lol I would have to tow a gas station along with me lol sure do love this truck though. The big block is the only thing I would change, and that's only for mileage reasons.

driveshaft is unsprung weight mostly. And I doubt the t-case will do much lol.Pssst
T-cases and front driveshafts help with ride quality.
You had 2" lift springs right? What brand where they?Front springs are great. The dual shocks fixed the too soft issue it had. Rides pretty close to how it was stock, maybe a bit rougher but not much. Do want some adjustable shocks at some point but not high on the list at the moment, real happy with the ride. Biggest thing I still want to work on is the turning radius, have gotten used to it but still don't like it lol